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July 22, 2022

My kindle experience so far

desk with books, kindle ereader, cup of tea
I had my kindle for a little over two and half years. I brought the Paperwhite, the second least expensive version and without the ads but I did brought it on sale so basically I paid full price because the discount barely covered the amount to remove the ads. I think it's ridiculous people have to pay to keep advertisement off a device they are already paying for. Overall, I like reading on the kindle for most of the time but as with most devices, they have their pros and cons. Here's what I like and dislike about my kindle so far. (I know I should probably capitalize kindle but I don't care.)

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The Dislikes:


01 - The unexpected, sudden software updates — I think the kindle purposely chooses the time when you're deep into a book to update its software just so it can annoy you. As long as the wi-fi on your kindle is on, it will update. I do try to keep wi-fi off when reading but I keep forgetting. Also, it updates even if you have the screen turned off because there is no power off option so it awakes to update the software and stays awake. I don't mind the updates (most of the time), but it would be nice if readers have a choice when to update or if to update. (Also turning off your wi-fi saves energy or so I've heard.)

02 - Struck with the kindle format — To be honest, I have no idea what is the kindle format other than its name. I think almost 99% of books I read is in the kindle format. I can send pdf and other formats (using my kindle email) to my kindle but my kindle does not recognize them as books, rather they are called documents. I have only ever read a few documents as any format that is not kindle is too wonky to read on a kindle anyway.
    
03 - Can't read most books from the local library — My local library usually doesn't have the kindle format of books I want to read. Often, the format that is most available is the paper version, the audio version, the OverDrive Read and the Adobe epub. The paper version definitely can't be read on a kindle. I don't read audio books so that's out (and if I do, I would have to purchase a bluetooth headphone or speaker). I can only read the OverDrive version on a computer or a device that can upload apps.
    The Adobe epub is a complicated format. Epub books has DRM (Digital Rights Management) that is supposed to protect books from piracy. But in order to read it, you have to authorize your device using an Adobe account and you have to use Adobe Digital Edition app to open it and read it. All this meant, it's rather hard to borrow epub books from the library. I've tried to get my computer to read epub books but it was too frustrating so I gave up. I'm not sure it's worth the aggravation to try get epub library books to work on my kindle either. (Recently, amazon did said kindle will support epub books (later this year) but in a roundabout way. You have to send the epub file to your kindle and it will reformat it to a kindle version or something else but I don't think it works with library books because the file you get from the library is not an epub book file but something else (I don't know what is supposed to be) and also, the whole DRM thing will probably be an issue.) (Please note, I might be wrong about epubs and DRMs but this is as far as I can understand it.)

04 - When you borrowed an ebook from your local library, you have to return it twice —  Returning a book from your kindle or from your amazon account (content & devices section), only removes the book from your kindle/amazon account. You have to go to your local library's account to really return the book.
    So maybe I could only return books with my library account and not bother to return using the kindle or from my amazon account but I would still have to delete them since I don't like having expired books I can't read.
    If you let the book expired without returning it, you'll still have to delete them from your kindle/amazon account unless you're okay with having expired books in your amazon account which can pile up if you borrow a lot of books. It would be nice to return a book once and be done with but I guess it's hard to sync library books since amazon doesn't own your local libraries. (Wouldn't it be weird if amazon open its own library and loan out books?)

05 - Frozen screen — I don't know what it is but the screen of my kindle now keeps freezing up randomly where I can't go forward or backward to any page or get to any of the settings. But then in a few moments, it's fine again. Sometimes I think about throwing my kindle against the wall just to see if it would survive but then I think about how much money I have spent on it so I don't.

kindle views - vertical and sideway
06 - The power button and the charging port at the bottom
— Now that I read my kindle sideways, the power button is on the left side which also make me sort of hit it now and then and then the screen of the pen and ink bottle would show up interrupting my reading. Now I don't often read while my kindle is charging but sometimes I do if I really wanted to finish a book so having the wire on the left side can be annoying.
    So these two things is not a big deal but I also hold my kindle left-handed but even if I hold it vertically, I just don't understand why the power button or the charging port is at the bottom.
        (You can change the setting to read sideways by clicking on the Aa option when you have a book open and it's under Layout, Orientation but do note only the book you read and all the books after that is turned sideways, everything else such as setting, your library, etc. is still facing vertically.)

07 - No power off button — I always turn off the screen when I'm not reading but it sometimes accidentally turns on if the kindle's power button bumps into something which is annoying because sometimes I don't read for long periods so if it's on, the energy drains away, although not a lot, still, is it really that hard to have a power off button or heck, I'll even accept a screen power off button so that my kindle can be completely turned off when not in use.

08 - Book covers that are different heights — This annoys me in paper books but somehow it annoys me more on the kindle screen. Why can't the covers be the same height? I suppose if the covers are all the same height, the image might be squeezed or expanded but I'm actually willing to accept that because I really just find the different height annoying.

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The Likes:

09 - The size of the kindle — It took me a long time to get use to the size and the weight (which sometimes seems heavy to me for no reason) but I think it's a good size for a such a device. It's the size of a thin novel.

10 - Book series can be placed together — I like that you can keep book series together but it doesn't always do that for every book in a series and you can't add books to a series which is kind of dumb because books series now have sequels and prequels. But at least, there is less book clutter. You can put books in a collection which is almost the same as a series but I don't want to waste time organizing books that should be together.

11 - Dictionaries — I like that you can search a word by pressing it and it will show the meaning but most times, if it's slang or some word that are only used in certain places, well, you're out of luck but at least, it works. (Dictionaries is a book or set of books in your kindle though I can't remember if it was already there when I brought the kindle or if I download it myself.)

12 - Options to change the text size, font characters, the leading, etc
— I like that I can make the text to look more like I used to when reading a paper book though I rarely change font size or the fonts on my kindle. And like I said in #6, you don't have to be struck reading it vertically. You can change it to read sideways.

13 - Being able to borrow library books
—This is really the reason I brought a kindle so I don't have to purchase books to read them. It's quite nice although the format I can read is kindle so usually, it's very limited.
    Since you're borrowing an electronic file, you would think everyone can borrow at the same time but no, it's just like paper books. Only one copy is in circulation at a time and the wait sometimes can be 840 days or 14 days, it really depends if people uses the full 21 days or not. I do recommend if you finish a book early, you should return it to the library early unless you need it for something.

14 - Less charging time
— Even though the kindle is like every gadget that needs charging, it needs less charging, that is, if I don't try to browse the kindle store. If you browse the kindle store on your kindle, it would lose charge faster. But at least, I don't have to charge it as much as a phone.

Do you read on a kindle? If so, how was your reading experience using the kindle?

18 comments:

  1. Good informative post, I should never have got a Kindle as I am not using it much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christine: I guess that means you prefer paper books more.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  2. I read e-books on my pc when there is no other choice but I much prefer paper books. I find them easier to flip through - to go back to a section I want to reread for example and I like the weight of a book in my hand. No kindle here. Yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elephant's Child: I've tried reading ebooks on my computer but it's just not all that comfortable. So yes, compare to a computer, paper books is way better. I'm not trying to conform anyone here so stay with paper books if that's what you like best.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  3. I don't have any kind of e-reader. Reading blogs etc on my screen is alreday bad enough, so books = paper for me. Also I love books, the smell of books, the feel of books and having books on my shelves. It's like old friends to me. Every wrinkle and spot speaks to me of good times spent together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charlotte: Yes, there is the joy of owning your own books. I certainly have a lot of paper books that I'll never give them up.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  4. This was good to read, because I've been debating about whether or not I want to get a Kindle, so I appreciated all your thoughts and likes and dislikes. Thanks! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lark: I took a long while to decide on a kindle and reading out people's experience helps me. I'm glad this helps you a bit.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  5. I have a PAperwhite and enjoy it when I'm using it but I vastly prefer real books. they're expensive though. I shouldn't say real books, I guess I should say physical ones. Your list of dislikes actually got me thinking because I haven't run into all thoe issues (probably because I only occasionally use mine) but if I did- ack.

    I do like being able to adjust text sizes and whatnot though. And books are so much cheaper on Kindle (well, sometimes it seems like they've been getting high too).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Greg: I think each person's experience is different so perhaps you'll never have the issues I have with my kindle. I might have struck at the screen a few times.

      In a way ebooks are cheaper but I've noticed the books published by well established publishers are so much higher. I did came across ebooks as high as 16 dollars even for short books. So paper books can sometimes be cheaper.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJuly 27, 2022

      lol there are times when I've been frustrated at my device too. :) And yes same here- ebooks have gotten high, especially from well known authors.

      This is greg by the way- I'm commenting on a different browser since Chrome isn't letting em comment due to the Captcha stuff... gah.

      http://gregsbookhaven.blogspot.com/

      Delete
    3. Greg: Some devices can be frustrating to use. I probably need to stay away from some of devices at times.

      I think some mad person is setting prices of ebooks and paper books or how else can they explain the erratic pricing? I always wait for books to go on sale which they rarely do but you'll never know.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  6. Interesting, honest review. I don't have a Kindle. For years I've been debating, "I should get one... I don't need one... Should I get one?... No, I don't need one... Maybe I should get one... Actually, I don't need it..."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lectrice Vorace: Really, no one needs an ereader but I like to think it's a different way of reading aside from paper books and audio books.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  7. I am extremely inspired together with your writing skills and also with the layout to your weblog. Is this a paid topic or did you customize it your self? Anyway keep up the nice high quality writing, it is uncommon to peer a great weblog like this one these days. kindle won't connect to wifi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Faraz_sallo: No, I'm not pay to write this. I just decided to share my experience for those who may want to know about these things.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  8. I have the kindle paperwhite, too. My favorite feature: I can read outside and there's no trouble seeing the screen! I have not yet tried using it to borrow library books, as that just looks too complicated. Most of the books I have on mine are docs of books that I got from places like Project Gutenberg, and converted into kindle format w/this program called Calibre. I do miss the feel of read paper book in hand when on my kindle, though. So I made a cover for it out of an old book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jeane: Borrowing from a library is not complicated. Just look up one of the youtube video tutorial, it's pretty easy. Or you can go here: https://libbyapp.com/interview/welcome#doYouHaveACard - you will need a library card. I hear that it's a lot easier if you use a phone, though I don't know as I use a computer.

      I sometimes do get books from Project Gutenberg for books published decades ago.

      I do also kind of miss paper books so if I really love a book and know I'll reread it, I would get a paper version.

      Thank you for coming by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete

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